The present disclosure relates to the roof industry, and particularly plastic foam applied to a roofing deck or other surface to provide an essentially seamless roof.
It is well-known to apply a plastic foam, such as a polyurethane foam, to a roofing deck. The foam typically includes two components which, when mixed together, react to create exothermic heat. By adding a blowing agent, the exothermic reaction causes the mixture of the components to expand and thereby trap a blowing agent in cells to produce a plastic foam having excellent insulating and other desirable properties for use as a roofing material. The chemicals are typically a liquid form that is heated and pumped under pressure where the chemicals are mixed in a spray gun, the gun or nozzle directing the materials against the roof surface where the material cures in a short period of time.
In another manner of application, the plastic foam chemicals are mixed and dispensed onto a roof deck ahead of a moving wall. The wall is spaced above the deck and cooperates with a side containment structure or foam block to define the vertical thickness and lateral width of a strip of plastic foam applied to the roof deck. This application method reduces overspray issues and optimizes the utilization of the foam material. Further details of various methods and apparatus for applying such foam plastic material to a roof deck are shown and described in commonly owned patents U.S. Pat. No. 5,670,178; U.S. Pat. No. 6,036,123; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,981,657, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
A common problem in the foam roofing industry results from an edge of the roof metal pulling away from the foam, or cracks developing due to movement in the structure. The gaps or cracks create a potential leak path that is unsightly and unfortunately a potential path of moisture ingress can develop beneath the foam. Gaps or cracks can also occur not only at the roof edge, but at other termination locations or other areas of the roof such as where structures including drains, stacks, penetrations, protrude from the roof, or expansion joints and other elevation changes in the roof. These regions are most prone to leaks.
One common way to correct the gap or crack is to form a “V-groove” that is subsequently filled with a sealant. As one skilled in the art will appreciate, this is a labor-intensive process, and likewise costly. Moreover, these remedial efforts are not always effective. Still further, the resulting effort is still not very attractive.
Consequently, a need exists for a low-cost, easy to install solution that addresses these various issues in roof areas that are most prone to leaking. The solution relates to an accessory and method of forming a foam roof that incorporates the accessory.